Holiday Cookies 2011

As part of our holiday tradition, we started baking cookies for our family and loved ones last year.  We make everything from scratch - no mixes in the Robbins' kitchen.  However, this year, due to Hannah's recent arrival, we focused more on drop cookies and did fewer roll outs.  Our cookies aren't quite as pretty this year as they were last year, but I checked, and they are all tasty.

Both Leah and Hannah help in the kitchen.  It turns out that Hannah loves to sit in her bouncy seat and rock out to music from my computer while I am baking.  Leah loves to turn on the mixer and food processor ("It's amazing!"), helps measure, mix, and stir, and helped frost whoopie pies. 

Assuming Jordan doesn't eat all the cookies, we'll be filling our tins with these cookies this year:

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies
Chinese Almond Cookies
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Eggnog Stars and Snowmen
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Spiced Apple Cookies
Gingerbread People and Houses
Pumpkin Biscotti
Nutella Thumbprints
Seven Layer Rainbow Cookies

 
We also made Nutella Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats, Leah's contribution to our friend's cookie exchange party.  These were devoured at the party.  I didn't try to brown the butter, but it was a happy accident.  We had one spectacular flop - Coconut Wafers.  We now have a bag full of Coconut Cookie Crumbs.  We'll have to find a good use for them.  Jordan suggested it would make a great crust for a vegan key lime pie.

Peach Upside Down Cake

We are in the midst of peach and corn season in our CSA.  As a result, I've been hunting down lots of ways to cook up our bounty.  Some of our recent adventures have included curried corn and crab cakes, brown rice and corn cakes with spicy black beans, coconut cream corn, chilled peach soup, and baked peach oatmeal. 

I needed a dessert to bring to dinner at our friends' house and decided that peach upside down cake would be perfect.  Based on a pineapple upside down cake, the cake itself is not overly sweet so that it balances out the caramelized topping.

Peach Upside Down Cake

1 lb sliced peaches, skins removed (you can also use thawed, frozen peaches)
1 stick (8 tbs) butter, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk (I use 2 tbs lemon + soy milk to = 1 cup, standing for 10 minutes)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt 1 stick of butter and set aside to cool slightly.

Use 4 tbs of the melted butter to very liberally grease a 9 inch cake pan.  I use a silicone brush for this step.  Arrange the sliced peaches in the bottom of the pan, on top of the butter.  Sprinkle the brown sugar over the peaches.  Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Whisk together the eggs.  Add milk and butter and add to the eggs.  Whisk until combined.  Combine egg mixture to the flour mixture and pour over the peaches.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Then run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake and flip cake onto a plate.

I don't have a cast iron skillet, but if you really wanted to go nuts, you could caramelize the peaches on the stovetop before adding the cake batter and proceeding with the rest of the recipe.